President lauds Sania's feat

January 26, 2005 22:50 IST

President A P J Abdul Kalam has lauded the feat of woman tennis star Sania Mirza and wished her well in the years to come.

"She has done well. I have followed her game. She is a great tennis player who has a bright future ahead. Hope she continues to do well on the international tennis circuit," he told newsmen in an informal chat at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.

He was complimenting Sania on her brilliant performance in the Australian Open, where she went down fighting to Serena Williams in the third round.

President Kalam had invited home a large number of prominent citizens including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other dignitaries on the occasion of Republic Day.

He had met the 18-year-old Hyderabad tennis star in Rashtrapati Bhavan last year.

According to Rashtrapati Bhavan sources, Kalam follows developments in the world of sports keenly and often makes inquiries about certain players if he does not get time to follow their achievements on day-to-day basis.